The present invention relates to a refrigerating apparatus.
To facilitate understanding of the present invention it will be helpful that a conventional refrigerating apparatus including an air cooling type condenser adapted to cooperate with a water cooling type condenser will be briefly described below with reference to FIG. 1 which is a system diagram schematically illustrating the conventional refrigerating apparatus.
First, description will be made as to the case when the refrigerating apparatus is operated with the aid of air cooling. Refrigerant gas discharged from a compressor 1 at high temperature and pressure enters an air cooling type condensor 2 with a blower 6 disposed in the proximity thereof for the purpose of cooling so that heat included in refrigerant gas is emitted from the air cooling type condenser 2 whereby it is liquidized therein. Refrigerant is then delivered to a water cooling type condenser 3. In this case, however, no cooling water flows through the water cooling type condenser 3 and therefore the latter serves merely as a liquid receiver or storage, because no heat radiation is effected therefrom. After leaving the water cooling type condenser 3, refrigerant reaches an expansion valve 4 in which it is subjected to pressure reduction and then it enters an evaporator 5 in which it is evaporated by extracting heat from the surroundings. After completion of evaporation refrigerant comes back to the compressure 1 and thereby a single cycle of refrigeration is finished.
Next, description will be made as to the case when the refrigerating apparatus is operated with the aid of water cooling. Refrigerant gas discharged from the compressor 1 at high temperature and pressure enters the air cooling type condenser 2 with the blower 6 disposed in the proximity thereof for the purpose of cooling. When the blower 6 is rotated, a part of heat included in refrigerant is emitted into the environmental air by way of forcible convection, whereas when the blower 6 is not rotated, the air cooling type condenser 2 is heated up to a considerably high temperature but a part of heat included in refrigerant is also emitted into the environmental air by way of natural convection. Thus, a part of heat is emitted from the air cooling type condenser 2 in that way and thereafter refrigerant is delivered to the water cooling type condenser 3 through which cooling water 7 flows circulatively at all time. Heat removal is effected further from the water cooling type condenser 3 with the aid of the cooling water 7 until refrigerant gas is liquidified therein. Then, refrigerant liquid reaches the expansion valve 4 in which it is subjected to pressure reduction. Next, it enters the evaporator 5 in which it is evaporated by extracting heat from the surroundings. After completion of evaporation it comes back to the compressor 1 and thereby a single cycle of refrigeration is finished.
In the above-described conventional refrigerating system it is required that the water cooling type condenser 3 serves not only as a liquid receiver during operation of the refrigerating apparatus with the aid of air cooling but also as an ordinary water cooling type condenser during operation of the same with the aid of water cooling. Accordingly, the water cooling type condenser 3 is required to hold a sufficient volume of refrigerant therein, resulting in considerably increased space required for mounting it. Further, there is necessity for storing a surplus volume of refrigerant in the water cooling type condenser in order to assure that the latter serves as a liquid storage satisfactorily. As a result an ample volume of refrigerant is required for operating the conventional refrigerating apparatus.